Mid-Tropospheric Flow Characteristics of Intense Precipitation Events in the Southeastern USA

Abstract

This study evaluated 500mb and 850mb flow patterns as well as surface pressure and 72-hour precipitation characteristics of large areal scale intense precipitation events in the Southeastern United States from 1950-2016. This was attempted using a combination of statistical methods utilizing PCA and cluster analysis as well as a manual classification scheme based on synoptic-scale storm type and formation location. All large-scale events were able to fit within one of five manual classifications: tropical events, frontal events, and three mid-latitude cyclone types: those that formed over the Southeast/Gulf of Mexico, the southern plains, and the Midwest/northern plains. This research builds upon GIS methods of classifying flow characteristics utilizing reanalysis data and has the potential to aide forecasters in identifying setups conducive to large-scale intense precipitation events.